Winnipeg - October 9, 2011

Like many of you, we couldn’t help but wonder what ever happened to the old Winnipeg Arena…and the giant portrait of Queen Elizabeth II that used to hang from the rafters? Demolished in 2006, the Winnipeg Arena is now just an empty lot across from the Canad Inns Stadium, where the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers play. According to the signage, construction of a new housing complex is slated to begin in the coming weeks on the lot. As for the painting of the Queen, it’s currently in a warehouse in Whitby, ON, looking for an art lover to give it a new home.

There’s nothing we here at the canadiens.com won’t do in the name of science, so when we heard the rumor that the coldest spot in Canada was down the street from our hotel, we set out to test the hypothesis. The legendary intersection even made it into the chorus of Randy Bachman and Neil Young’s song “Prairie Town”! Ok, so a balmy autumn day probably wasn’t the best setting in which to conduct our experiment, but we headed to the intersection of Portage and Main to see just how cold it was. We didn’t see any cars swerving in the wind or pedestrians donning extra layers – although it did prove to be one of the most complicated crosswalks we’ve ever traversed! For now, we’re calling this legend a myth, but we’ll be sure to send our other crew members to follow up when the team returns to The Peg in December!